Tool Chests

[Blrfl]

It's becoming evident that Blrfl's Cycle Center is in need of some tool storage, because the collection of boxes and spots on the shelf I'm using now is no longer doing the job. So for the past several months, I've been looking at tool chests. I'm looking for a bottom unit and a top chest combo with ball-bearing slides at a price under a kilobuck. Latching drawers would be a plus.

I've looked at what's available from Craftsman, Snap-On, MAC, McMaster-Carr, the home improvement chains and U.S. General from Harbor Freight. How much chest $1,000 buys is brand-dependent, with Snap-On getting you a lunchbox and HF getting you a lot. I've been able to put a hand on pretty much everything at some point except the USG chests, which look like they might give good bang for the buck based on the photos and the few comments I was able to find out in the Intarwebs. Is anybody using one? How do you like it?

Are there other brands I missed that are worth a look?

Thanks.

--Mark

[BigTom]

Mark

I think I have had my hands on (in) most all of them. I once owned a matched set of Snap On. Top, bottom, middle. Very nice, very expensive. I used it every day, the top box had to go on the road, so the warranty was worth it for me.

Today, I have (2) older Proto tops, that I owned before the Snap On. These probably have 250,000 road miles each, they are just about finished.

So, with the history, I'd say get what you like. I have been very tempted to buy the HF, but I suspect I will end up with a Kennedy. I think they are the mfg for Craftsman for about 1/2. I had a boss (in the day) that used Kennedy, and he was a lazy, power crazed slave driver, but his boxes held up:) (Actually, I still talk to him...)

I think USG and Kennedy are about the same, or were when I was current. I think Kennedy is available at (a large, Orange home center). The local Sam's club has a USG in Stainless that really looks good...and no more than I am going to use it, it will last through to my children:)

Man, this got long. I guess my point is that for home wrenching all will probably store and organize your tools forever. I'd say buy the low price and ride the difference:) Coast to coast for Snap On or Mac.

[Sink]

Didn't I see a commercial about Sears having ball bearing boxes on sale? Usually a really good deal if you can catch the sales! I have a Snappy bottom box and a Craftman top box. Both are very nice and seem to be about the same as duability goes.

[Blrfl]

Thanks, Gents. I did see a very nicely-built Kobalt model at Lowes the other day, complete with rubber mats in the drawers. Sears seems to like nickel-and-diming you for that stuff.

--Mark

[Mark]

Any one looked at the Costco stuff; a lot like the stuff at Sams.
It looks pretty; but, I don't know that I need that much SS...

I have a kennedy and I am like Mark in that my 'other' storage (all the shelves are a bit more than full and anything the rest of the family uses seem to stop at the 1st level surface in the garage) seems to be overflowing with tools.

I have been thinking about just the lower unit from HF as my kennedy will fit on top leaving a bit of room for the 'STuff' I'm using at any one time. Anyone one have an opinion on the bottom HF units?

Thanks,
Mark

[curmudgeon]

Expensive tool boxes are a waste of money. My roll-away is 25 years old and the top box is over 40 years old. Both are Craftsman and do not have roller bearings, but work just fine.
Same with tools. Most professional aircraft mechanics I worked with chose Craftsman over Snap-On.


Phil

[Blrfl]

Hummm, I think we have a winner (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=009H0083000). Big enough for most everything I want to put in it and cheap enough that adding a second one later wouldn't break the bank.

(Sorry, Phil... I just like ball bearing slides on the drawers. Think of it as a farkle.)

--Mark

[TPadden]

Hummm, I think we have a winner (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=009H0083000). ...--Mark
I have been using roll-aways for years but find they end up being permanently placed and I end up walking back and forth. I have been using a Stanly metal "mobile" box for a while and find it's PERFECT for moving tools, even just between bikes. Moves as easily as airline luggage - and it's cheap!
$79 at Home Depot!

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=100015133


Tom

[BigTom]

I agree with the ball bearings. Past that, I don't think a home wrench can use them enough to wear them out.

I roll my tool box to the job rather than walking to the box. That's another good point. Big wheels help if your floor isn't perfect.

Mark

I think the HF would be just fine, especially the bottom. You will find (at least it is my experience) that the 'often used' stuff is higher up in the top box. The bottom is just to get the top box where you need it:)

Like I said earlier: Buy the cheap and invest the difference in a good ride:)

See you Saturday?

[number9]

Expensive tool boxes are a waste of money. My roll-away is 25 years old and the top box is over 40 years old. Both are Craftsman and do not have roller bearings, but work just fine.
Same with tools. Most professional aircraft mechanics I worked with chose Craftsman over Snap-On.
Phil

I think the tool boxes that were built 25yrs ago are built WAY better / tougher than those of today. I have been looking for a tool box setup for a long while and the reasonable priced (v $500) ones I see at Sears and other places seem to be made out of pop cans with flimsy drawer slides and cheap plastic handles. I just can't bring myself to spend the money on them when I know everytime I opened a drawer I'd think "cheap POS" in my head.

One box I have seen lately that I like and seems to be built pretty solid is this TOP BOX (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=33959-55738-LW27SS-TP05&lpage=none) and this BOTTOM BOX (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=34473-55738-L227SS-BT06&lpage=none). Only thing is that it is more than I'd want to spend and I don't like the top box drawer arrangement. I want the top 2 rows to have the 3 smaller drawers to store my sockets in by std or metric and drive size (1/4 and 3/8). The bottom full width drawers in the top box would be for 1/2 sockets and all my wrenches. The bottom box would hold my torque wrenches, stuff that didn't fit/belong in the top box and hammers, special tools, etc.... and would probably be about 1/2 empty.

I know......I am too picky, but that's just the way it is. :cool:

[BigTom]

I agree. The top two rows should be 1/3 width each, for the reasons you state. My two Proto boxes have 5, the middle one is double. It just ends up being a stuff catcher (tubes of sealer, thread locker, grease, etc. for me).

Mine is left to right, top to bottom
small wrenches (I have a metric and an SAE box), stuff, ratchets.
Small screwdrivers (both), ignition tools.

When I had the 6 drawer option I had calipers and mics in the center top, nut drivers center bottom.

Not that I am compulsive, but flat blade screwdrivers have red handles, phillips have orange. I can grab at a glance.

I also like the tall top enclosure option, and full face coverage. I put all my 1/2, 3/8, 1/4 sockets on racks in the top. The full face is simply for protection when closed, I hadn't really thought that I don't need that anymore (since I don't take my tools away), is just habit, now.

Most Mfgs have that for an option. Finding it might be the problem. Maybe try Kobalt's web site?

[ST1300 Alicia]

SNAP-ON baby, All the way. I've got three big ones all the way down one side of my garage. They are full too. I just wish the resale was high enough to retire on. I bought them over 15 years ago. Some of them I've had for over 25 years. I think that a Craftsman ball bearing drawer box would be a very good choice for the home Gear Head. Keep in mind that if you bend a drawer slide or need any replacement parts you can get them from Sears. The stuff I get from Harbor Freight I consider to be disposable. I just bought their high end Hammer Drill for $60.00. If I use it a couple of times and then toss it out, it's cheaper than renting one every time I needed it.
If you have a tool box that is full and weights several hundred pounds and you move it and use it 10-12 hours a day, the cheap ones won't last. One of our Techs had a Roll-Away that we could not lift with the shop Fork Lift. When he quit, we had to move it to the loading dock and jacked his pickup up to meet the ramp.
Alicia

[Mark]

I agree with the ball bearings. Past that, I don't think a home wrench can use them enough to wear them out.

I roll my tool box to the job rather than walking to the box. That's another good point. Big wheels help if your floor isn't perfect.

Mark

I think the HF would be just fine, especially the bottom. You will find (at least it is my experience) that the 'often used' stuff is higher up in the top box. The bottom is just to get the top box where you need it:)

Like I said earlier: Buy the cheap and invest the difference in a good ride:)

See you Saturday?

That's what I thought, the HF bottom looks like it has enough compartments to hold the junk that is spread out on other shelves right now.

Yup... you'll see me Chris and me if you show up... :-)

Mark

[Blrfl]

Well, here's how it ended up:

I ordered the aforementioned winner (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=009H0083000) and picked up the top and bottom sections this evening. (The center section is on its way in from the warehouse.)

This is the first rollaway I've actually pulled out of the box, and initially I found it a little on the "clangy" side, which to me says flimsy. But I pressed on and filled the drawers with the liner I ordered from my favorite hardware store (http://www.mcmaster.com). (They fill their orders quickly, are one day away from me by UPS ground and don't charge a fortune for shipping.) That really quieted everything down, and the load of tools I put in it resulted in the drawers having a very satisfying feel.

The only thing I've found not to like about it so far is that it locks the drawers in the top section when the lid's closed. But I think I can live with that.

So what have I learned? Well, for starters, Phil was mostly right: you don't need to drop a kilobuck to get a decent box. I spent about $600 for the box and liners and liked it. The ball bearing slides are still worth the extra money. Alicia's point about being able to get parts (or another identical chest) through Sears was a good one, so going with Craftsman seemed like a smart thing to do.

Thanks to everyone for all the input! It's nice having everything neat and organized on one place.

--Mark

[ST1300 Alicia]

The older Craftsman tool chests were made much better than they are today. I was in Sears several years ago looking at boxes and the salesman asked if I was wanting one for the shop. I told him that I was wanting one for home. What he had would not even have lasted at home, let alone at the shop. The new ones are JUNK. An older 1970's Grey Colored Craftsman Box was one H*LL of a box. However the roller drawer slides are nice because the drawers slide so much easier. If you have a drawer with over a hundred pounds of tools and equipment in it, you need rollers to be able to open it with two fingers. YES, I have many drawers that have well over a Hundred pounds in them. Its really nice to open them with just one finger.
Alicia

[Blrfl]

An older 1970's Grey Colored Craftsman Box was one H*LL of a box.

One could say the same about an older 1970s gray-colored Chrysler Cordoba. :)

I have a couple of Craftsman Pro boxes at work, and while they're much better made than mine, they're also on the order of three times the price.

--Mark

[BigTom]

Quote by Blrfl
One could say the same about an older 1970s gray-colored Chrysler Cordoba.

I never owned one, but I did get hit by one. In a cage, nice English lady that looked the wrong way on a one way street and got me dead amidship in a Ford Escort. Pretty darn good impact, I must say:) Ground looped the escort twice...

[29PalmsMark]

The age old saying of "you get what you pay for" applies more today than at any time in the past. With the vast majority of item s being produced over seas these days in order to save a buck, quality has suffered.

I too am looking to replace my roll away set that I inherited from my dad over twenty years ago, and it was 20 years old when I got it from him. As Alicia said about getting spare parts from the manufacture, it works when they are still in business. I have an old Powercraft from Montgomery Wards, and since they went belly a long time ago, spare parts aren't an option.

For the pro's who use there tool box on a daily basis, by all means spend the extra bucks and get the good stuff. It'll become an heirloom you can pass on to your children. For the rest of us garage jockies, it all boils down to size and function and how much we want to spend.

I have been looking for over a year for a new box and have decided on getting one of those SS units from costco as soon as I find one with a drawer layout that suits my needs again. Every different costco I've been in has a different style of these tool boxes and they seem to change on a monthly basis. I have friends that have them and their build quality is pretty good so it should last me for quite some time.

[Herleman]

Never buy one that has any extra space. Extra space creates need for more tools. More tools creates extra space in the wallet.

I can verify that the above is true.